A Baby Boomer’s Journey to Retirement
A Baby Boomer’s Journey to Retirement
Working since the age of 15 years, it seems a lifetime ago that I first began my journey towards retirement. Now 58, I look back and wonder if there is anything I would have changed; anything I regret.
They say hindsight is 20/20, and although I probably would have changed one or two things in my career, I have no regrets.
Unlike most baby boomers, I retired early. Nine months ago, I made the decision to retire. While my resume may be quite impressive to most people, to me it reflects my life’s work and the paths I took to arrive at my final destination.
I entered the Department of Education at the age of 40, received my college degree at the age of 45 (a prequisite for a school secretary license was 30 college credits), and continued on for 17 years. In July of 2006, I made an appointment to see a retirement specialist who works solely with staff members of the Department of Education.
Knowing full well that my early retirement would cause a severe reduction in my pension, my mind was made up. I have come to learn, over the course of my career, that nothing is worth one’s health, especially not this particular position. I have also said many times: School secretaries who work for the Department of Education are overworked and underpaid, and while the job is easy – the people who run the system are inept when it comes to the needs of its staff. The number of secretaries, teachers, and other staff members who have left due to life threatening illnesses are too numerous to count. Many colleagues of mine died either on the job or soon after retirement.
This would not be my epitaph.
After meeting with the retirement professional, the news was bleak. But then I knew it would be. However, I had more skills than most and my one desire was to go back to the one thing I loved most in the world – writing.
On September 1, 2006, I joined the ranks of the retirees. On November 30, 2006, I received my first pension check and, while not completely surprised, was a bit taken back. However, secretaries’ salaries are far below what teachers earn, and I roughly figured that I would have to work well past 80 (if I live that long) to accrue the type of benefits a teacher would make at a retirement age of 62.
I was not distressed. In fact, I was elated. The weight of the problems associated with the Department of Education and its continual reorganization was lifted from my shoulders. I could now pursue that which I’ve always dreamed of as a second career.
I immediately discovered a window of opportunity into the writing field. By November, I was writing article content; and by January I was fully engaged. Today, I am extremely happy because not only do I have my health, but I have the wherewithal to continue to write articulate pieces of work that are unique and honest.
Today, as I read the newspapers and notice articles on the Department of Education, I grimace at the direction they have taken. They have just implemented a new procedure wherein they will be paying students and their parents for attending school, passing all five regents exams, going to the doctor, and heaven knows what else.
This is what I escaped from – a system that does not provide a tried and true method of teaching, but has incorporated outside businesses who are now the stewards who decide what course the educational system will take, regardless of how it affects the children and the staff. The teacher’s union is no better. Along with the corporations who have steadily taken over the education system, the union is just as culpable. Their main concern is money and power. They have been as responsible for the decline of the educational system as anyone else.
But, I digress. This article is about retirement. While there are pluses and minuses in every decision we make in life, this is no exception. Retirement is not the end, but the beginning. It can re-energize and invigorate you into accomplishing anything you desire.
It is empowering. You have the unrestricted ability to make decisions, choices, and plans for the rest of your life.
I made a choice. I made the right choice for me. While I fully understand the implications, I am doing what I love to do and I am equally proud to have made the journey this far. While I have never been a person of means, I am doing well. I take care of my family and myself. I have no preconceived notions of wealth or fame. I have lived, and continue to live, a wonderful life. Having traveled half way around the world in my youth, I seek no further adventures except that which I create with words.
No one can predict the future, and I am not going to try. I take it one day at a time and relish every moment with a renewed sense of self. I used to tell secretaries, the job is what you do, not who you are.
For me, writing is who I am, not what I do.
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Charlotte Demontigny
Web Master
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